Appointment Policies/Cancellation policy
- We require 24 hours notice for any cancellations or changes to your appointment.
- Patients who provide less than 24 hours notice, or miss their appointment, will be charged a cancellation fee of $75.
- Patients who no call/no show their appointment will be charged the entire appointment fee. This fee is not covered by insurance and you will be automatically charged at the time of the appointment.
- The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 53-55 minutes.
- Requests to change the 53-55-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist for time to be scheduled in advance.
- If you are late for a session, you may lose some of that session time.
- If you are more than 15 minutes late to your 53-55 minute appointment or 10 minutes late to your 30 minute long appointment, without informing this writer of your lateness, the session will be canceled and considered a no-show.
- A $10.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.
- If a patient believes there are extenuating circumstances regarding fees, they may submit a written appeal to the practice. The appeal will be reviewed, and a response will be provided within a reasonable time frame.
- Exceptions to this policy may be made for emergencies or unforeseen circumstances. Our practice will use discretion and assess situations on a case-by-case basis.
- 2 missed appointments or 2 late cancellations will result in discharge from the practice.
- Existing patients can self book through the patient portal if they so choose.
Telephone Accessibility
- If you need to contact your provider between sessions, please leave a message on the practice admin line or the individual voicemail of your provider.
- If you leave a voicemail we will attempt to return your call within 24-48 hours.
- If a true emergency arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room.
Electronic Communication
- We cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages.
- Our email system is encrypted and compliant with HIPAA, however, breaches happen. If you choose to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, we are happy to do so, but please do not send sensitive or clinical information by email or text.
- While we try to return messages promptly, we cannot guarantee immediate response and request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies.
Financial Policies
- All patients must keep a credit or debit card on file in our secure system.
- New patients must put a credit or debit card on file in our secure system for appointment fees.
- Fee for service patient’s cards will be charged the fee at time of appointment and superbill will be provided to the patient through email or patient portal for insurance reimbursement.
- Fee for service rates are $315-65 depending on the type of appointment scheduled.
- Insurance fees will be processed through Jane App.
- If you have an unpaid balance greater than 30 days old your follow up may be canceled until the balance is paid.
- Unpaid balances may be sent to collections after Nourish The Heart Counseling attempts to collect for 90 days.
- Communication All patient telehealth visits will take place through Jane App’s electronic health record portal. This is a secure and HIPPA compliant platform.
- All patient communication will be through email or text (which is HIPPA compliant). While we do our best to maintain confidentiality, please do not send confidential or protected information through email, it should be for scheduling or general questions only.
- You must inform the practice of your intent to use either insurance, or privately pay for your sessions.
- If you are using insurance, you must enter your insurance information in the electronic health record prior to your first appointment, otherwise, your appointment will be canceled.
- If you are not using insurance (private pay) you must complete an insurance opt out form.
- You may choose to pay with another form of payment, this must be discussed with your therapist ahead of time, and we still require a card on file.
Safety policies
- Threatening speech or behavior will not be tolerated and will lead to immediate discharge from the practice.
Emergency and Crisis Intervention Policy
- In the event a patient presents as a threat to self, others, or is gravely disabled and we are unable to make an adequate plan for safety:
- Emergency contact will be contacted.
- Crisis intervention or emergency services will be contacted to ensure patient safety.
- Nourish The Heart Counseling does not provide after hours or weekend coverage. By signing this form you agree that if you are having a psychiatric or medical emergency you will not contact Nourish The Heart Counseling but rather seek emergent care by calling 911 or 211 for mobile crisis, or going to the nearest emergency department.
- If you require a higher level of care Nourish The Heart Counseling will coordinate with those care providers and receive clearance from them prior to returning to outpatient level of care.
Telehealth
- NTHC is a telehealth practice only, we do not provide in-person therapy.
- At times we may offer Walk and talk therapy, you may talk to your provider about this service.
- I understand that a telehealth consultation has potential benefits including:
- easier access to care
- convenience of meeting from the location of my choosing.
- I understand there are potential risks to this technology, including:
- Interruptions
- unauthorized access
- technical difficulties.
- if the session experiences technical difficulties, my health care provider will attempt to reach me by phone first, and then text before discontinuing the session.
- You are required to be fully clothed and in a quiet place that is private and maintains your confidentiality.
- If you choose to be in a public place, or not disclose that there are others in the room or around you, your therapist cannot be held responsible for this.
- If you are sexually inappropriate in any way during your telehealth appointment that your mental health provider has the right to cancel your session, charge the full fee for the session and potentially discharge you as a client.
Practice Policies
Appearance
- at the time of your appointment must be fully dressed and appropriate
- If you are not, your therapist may ask you to put on additional clothing or they may cancel your appointment.
- You will still be charged for this appointment.
Misc
- There are no after hours or weekend coverage so if you contact Nourish The Heart Counseling during off hours there will be no response until office hours start again. If there is an emergency please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
- There is a $50 fee for each instance of FMLA paperwork being completed.
- Nourish The Heart Counseling DOES NOT complete social security disability paperwork but you can request your records at anytime if you believe it will help you case.
- Nourish The Heart Counseling DOES NOT certify service, therapy, or emotional support animals.
- We do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).